Democratic political veteran James Carville didn’t hold back this week, taking sharp aim at New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani over his refusal to denounce the controversial slogan “globalize the intifada,” a phrase widely interpreted as advocating violence against Israel.
Mamdani, a Queens-based assemblyman in the New York State legislature, made history by becoming the Democratic nominee for mayor. A Ugandan-born Muslim of Indian descent and an outspoken democratic socialist, Mamdani has sparked criticism from across the political spectrum — with Republicans and even some Democrats arguing his positions veer too far left.
Carville addressed the controversy during a Tuesday episode of “The People’s Cabinet” podcast, hosted by Daniel Koh. Koh mentioned that some of Mamdani’s economic ideas have gained traction among New Yorkers.
Carville acknowledged the resonance of affordability-focused policies but noted that a major generational shift is underway in American politics, especially concerning views on Israel.
“One of the big changes is Israel just doesn’t hold much sway with younger Jewish voters,” Carville said.
Yet even with that shift, Carville expressed exasperation over Mamdani’s refusal to distance himself from the phrase “globalize the intifada.”
“Yeah, I mean, come on, man, just, …..get it out your mouth,” Carville said, clearly frustrated.
Koh pressed further, asking, “Why do you think he won’t do that? I mean, that seems to be a pretty non-controversial thing to condemn, right?”
Carville speculated that Mamdani’s background might influence his perspective on the term. “His father is an academic, and I think ‘intifada’ has different meanings to different people, alright?” Carville said. “To some it means kind of ‘opposition.’ To most people, myself, it means, you know, ‘violence.’”
According to the American Jewish Committee, the slogan is a rallying cry for global resistance against Israel. The Second Intifada, which erupted in the early 2000s, involved widespread Palestinian terror attacks, including suicide bombings targeting Israeli civilians.
“Look, I’m as befuddled as you are,” Carville admitted. “And he’s been given every opportunity to walk it back, okay, so I am quite befuddled by it. And people that I have an enormous respect for, Jonathan Chait and Hakeem Jeffries, are like, ‘Come on, man.’ …this ain’t this hard. I mean, you could just see the angst in their voice.”
“It is troubling,” Carville concluded.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who also represents a New York district, took Mamdani to task following his primary victory. “‘Globalizing the intifada,’ by way of example, is not an acceptable phrase. He’s going to have to clarify his position on that as he moves forward,” Jeffries said.
“With respect to the Jewish communities that I represent, I think our nominee is going to have to convince folks that he is prepared to aggressively address the rise in antisemitism in the city of New York, which has been an unacceptable development,” Jeffries added.
{Matzav.com}